


The Four Keys

by TheMockingJ3



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Ambrosian Queen, Azran lore I guess, Gen, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26614711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMockingJ3/pseuds/TheMockingJ3
Summary: “You used all of those people as tools… as ‘keys’… in your deranged plans!”
Relationships: Aurora & Desmond Sycamore, Desmond Sycamore & Desmond Sycamore's Daughter, Jean Descole & Loosha, Jean Descole & Melina Whistler, Jean Descole & Randall Ascot
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. Loosha & Arianna

**Author's Note:**

> Set: During the prequel series. 
> 
> Spoilers: For most of the prequel series.
> 
> Warnings: Character death, illness, general scrutiny of Descole’s plans
> 
> Inspired by this amazing fanart on Tumblr: https://puzzlinghints.tumblr.com/post/46741815394/the-three-keys-sparkles-everywhere

Far too late, I realised that Loosha was the first key. ‘Loosha’, so named by the Barde siblings, the overgrown manatee that destroyed my excavation machine. The bumpkins of Misthallery now hailed her as a fallen hero. 

On the brink of death, Loosha had revealed the path to the Golden Garden. It was hidden beneath the dam, that whole time. I was too busy smashing up the town to search there.

Triton had never breathed a word about the dam. If only I had infiltrated Barde Manor instead…

Evan Barde was dead. Had his body not been found, I could have taken his place. I would have seen how the Barde children befriended Loosha and tamed her with the flute. (One could say Arianna was also a key— by extension.)

Loosha, hoping to heal Arianna, would have led us straight to the garden. No one would have objected if the _mayor_ had claimed the land as his own, and if he wanted the sympathy vote, he could argue it was for his daughter’s health.

But even if I had known the garden’s location, years ago, it would have been no help to me. The garden’s waters couldn’t heal _wounds_ , as shown by Loosha.

Arianna, on the other hand, seemed to be recovering, thanks to the clean air in the garden.

I wished Melina Whistler had lived long enough to visit.


	2. Melina

Melina Whistler was the second key. I knew this before I even met her.

It was _I_ who discovered the complete Ambrosian seal and delved further into the legend than anyone before.

I traced the descendants of the Ambrosian queen— followed the family tree all the way to _Whistler._ Musical forte ran in their family.

Oswald Whistler had disappeared from the public eye in recent years, due to his ailing daughter. (I sensed a theme here…)

I happened upon an article with a photo of the pair of them. Melina Whistler was the spitting image of the Ambrosian queen, according to all of the paintings and portrayals I had seen. _’Hair kissed by the sun… Eyes like starlight… Pearl-white skin…’_

But I wasn’t completely convinced until I heard her _voice._ She had performed in several of her father’s operas when she was younger. I listened to her in every recording I could find until I was certain, without a single doubt, that she was the one. The reincarnation of the Ambrosian queen.

I contacted Whistler under the guise of a doctor and a long time fan of his work. I claimed that I wanted to cure Melina, though I warned that my methods were untested and not entirely legal.

Whistler had no time for doubt. He agreed to my price, which helped fund the castle we would stay in. He and Melina moved to the island— a hospice retreat.

When I first met Melina in person, I feared I had made a mistake. This girl… looked nothing like the ethereal queen of legend. Melina’s skin was ashen, her hair was dull as straw, and her eyes were shadowed. You would never believe she was just twenty-two. If anything, she resembled the queen in her dying days.

She could barely walk… but could she _sing?_

On the day of their arrival, Melina sang with her father at the brand new piano. I smiled.

Now, if she could just _survive_ until I deciphered the Ambrosian seal, or uncovered the Golden Garden… 

  
A month into her stay, she asked me _why_ I was trying so hard to save her, after every other medical expert had deemed her a lost cause. Everything I told her was true. _“I’ve followed your father’s work for years… I used to enjoy music with my daughter… I couldn’t save_ her.” 

Melina was nothing like my daughter. To start, my daughter couldn’t _sing_. Well, she _could_ , but not _prettily._ She had plenty of passion but far too much volume. I applauded with her mother at her little concerts, of course, but I wouldn’t be recommending her to the national choir any time soon. Perhaps after some singing lessons… if she had ever gotten the chance.

One link connected my daughter to Melina— their love of stories.

Even I, an avid reader, was baffled by the number of books Melina brought to the castle. When she lacked the energy to walk or to produce music, Melina would lie in bed, reading. If she could no longer travel the world, then she would venture into the world of fiction.

I lent her a few books from my own collections, just to keep her blissfully compliant. Boredom would lead to questions— I was well aware of this. 

I’d never been bedridden for so long, but I had been locked away in my childhood home. Without my brother to care for, I had buried myself in Azran texts.

Thankfully, Melina’s routine became more exciting whenever Janice Quatlane came to visit. Melina would beg Janice for gossip or news from London. I often heard them giggling over some celebrity or another…

I didn’t get to see my daughter giggling about such trivialities. She didn’t even get to go to school. She was _six._

My daughter’s life was _taken_. Melina’s life was being sapped away and there was nobody to blame.

Or _was_ there? The Ambrosian queen had died of some disease, and now it appeared history was doomed to repeat itself. Had the Azran marked Melina with this same fate..?

Not if _I_ had anything to do with it.

I _tried._ Truly, I tried to heal her through medical means, with Raymond’s aid.

But the Golden Garden was still beyond my reach, and there was no elixir of life for Melina.

So, I turned to Plan B. I dug out some old blueprints and finally constructed the Detragon. If I couldn’t save Melina, then I would at least save her memories.

Just as I finished translating _A Song of the Sea,_ Melina Whistler succumbed to her illness. We didn’t hold a funeral— what would be the point? Melina would be back with us again soon. We had her memories and a perfect host on hand.

Janice agreed to it… in a manner of speaking. She was at Melina’s side during her last days. She cried to Whistler she would do _anything_ to bring Melina back. I gave her that opportunity.

Hours after Melina’s passing, we transferred her memories to Janice.

As long as those memories remained, I would have my second key, and Melina would have a second chance at life.


End file.
